Less than six months after announcing it would revolutionise online fundraising by offering its service for free, fundraising sponsorship website Bmycharity has announced it is to shut down after failing to raise enough funds.

In a statement posted on the company’s website yesterday, founders Ben Brabyn and partner Matt Cooper said that Bmycharity had secured corporate partnerships and charities were lining up to use the free service, but a failed deal within the last few days means that the company will have to wrap up by the end of the month.

Fundraising pages will remain live and able to receive donations until 19 March, while the pages themselves will be active until 31 March.

Talking to Civil Society on 1 October last year, when announcing that Bmycharity would abolish all charges to charities, Brabyn said that the model of charging charities for online fundraising services was no longer necessary. He predicted that making the service free would increase the use of the medium by individuals.

When speaking to Civil Society, Bmycharity had recorded a 40 per cent rise in revenue in the year before it announced the dumping of fees.

In their statement, Brabyn and Cooper suggest that the market place has become dominated by goliaths, with no space for Davids. “We are a two man team with no external investors in a market increasingly characterised by companies with scores of employees and multi-million pound backing,” they write.

The announcement yesterday follows the revelation by JustGiving earlier this week that its site has seen an increase in fundraisers, and average donations, for the all-important London Marathon this year. 

It is not clear whether the entry into Virgin Money Giving into the market has had any impact on Bmycharity's fortunes or ability to attract investment. 

A call to Ben Brabyn by Civil Society was met with a recorded message confirming that the service is being withdrawn.